Is 2007 a Bad Year For Roaches?

Is anyone else having a problem with bugs in the house this summer? We have a pest control service that sprays, but we are having an over abundance of wood roaches and for the first time I've been seeing (horrors of horrors!) cock roaches! I've had the pest control company come back out to spray, but the bugs keep on coming. Does anyone know what I can do about it? We are freaked out, to say the least!

You can try a thin strip of Boric acid around your baseboards in the cupboards behind the fridge or anyplace that you see them coming in every little crack that should help as well as having the home sprayed just make sure it is out of the way of pets and kids

Our apt complex refuses to spray inside each unit, so there's infestations through the walls of our building. I've heard some of the Bait systems work really well (don't bother with the roach motel bait systems, go for professional grade). The roaches will bring the bait to their nests and kill them all for several months. We are trying that next!!

1 tablespoon of Ivory liquid soap into a quart of water then place the mixture in a spray bottle to actually spray the roach. This is so gross, but apparently, they hate to be clean!

Place a shallow bowl of equal parts of baking soda and powdered sugar where you have roach problems - KEEP THIS AWAY FROM PETS AND CHILDREN

Take a one pound coffee can and place two slices of bread in it that have been soaked with beer. Place the can anywhere a roach problem exists. Save the lid and dispose of the canned roaches.

Sprinkle boric acid down any cracks or crevices in NON FOOD AREAS. THIS IS TOXIC TO CHILDREN AND PETS. The book says it is a good choice for hard to reach places. Boric acid is an item that roaches have not developed immunity from.

Okay, here is another weird one-

Hedgeapples have been used for hundreds of years to repel roaches. They are the fruit of the Osage orange tree and contain a natural chemical that repels roaches. It only takes one small apple in a room to eliminate the roaches. Hedgeapples will last about two months before needing replacement. They can be obtained through the Internet at http://www.hedgeapple.com (who would have thought it?)

Place Vaseline around the inside rim of a medium size jar then place half a banana in the jar and put a piece of wood or tongue depressor on the outside of the jar to be used as a ramp so they can easily walk into the jar to get to the banana. The vaseline will make it too slippery for them to get out.

Place 1 capful of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap in one quart of warm water and spray the areas where you have a problem. I buy this at Whole Foods Market, but I think they have a website.

Take two tablespoons of Tabasco sauce or other very hot sauce in one quart of water then mix and spray roach areas.

Apparently, German roaches like certain foods over others. They like flour, brown sugar and light Karo syrup. They prefer carbohydrates to proteins. They also like stale beer. Lace any of these foods with 5% food-grade DE or borax. BE CAREFUL OF CHILDREN AND PETS - BORAX IS POISON.

Here's an interesting one.

Wait at least one hour after dark and go into your roach room with a red light. Don't turn on the room light. Take a vacuum and vacuum up all the roaches - if using a dry vacuum place 1 teaspoon of cornstarch in the vacuum bag to kill the roaches.

Roach Dough-

1/2 cup Crisco with 1/2 cup 10X powdered sugar, 1/4 red onion, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, and 8 ounces of baking soda (very fresh). Add water as needed to prepare a dough-like consistency. Make the dough into small balls and leave them out for the roaches to find.

Gecko's love cockroaches and will chase and consume them. They hunt at night. Geckos don't like cats because cats like geckos.

I haven't seen ANY type of crawling critter in my house for several months now -- I had roaches brought in thru grocery bags and moving boxes -- I mix Borax (laundry type), crushed bay leaves, and cayenne pepper together -- I then sprinkle around walls, windows, sinks, drawers, shelves and any place else I think a creepy crawler might be -- I will vacuum the mixture up when giving the house a good cleaning but always put more down -- this is great for basements, attics, and especially doorways leading outside.

As a Master Gardener, I took a class on Entomology (the study of bugs/spiders). A cockroach can live up to 6 months without food, however - it can only live a few weeks without WATER. I keep a very clean house. All pet bowls are emptied each night then replaced the next a.m. Water is kept away as much as possible i.e. I check to be sure I never have leaks in the bathrooms/kitchen, outside or inside faucets, (if you find a leak repair it asap) Wipe down the sinks and wall behind kitchen sink each night. If I dry dishes on a dishrack, I put the rack over the sink with no mat underneath to collect any water. It takes diligence, but is well worth it, and it soon becomes habit. If cold weather or lots of rain arrives, bugs try to come in, I take my caulking gun and check to be sure all windows, little holes in walls or entrance is sealed. If I find a problem, the first dry weather day I have, I buy insecticide from LESCO CO. and sprinkle all around the house. I encourage Gecko lizards in my garden, they like cockroaches. Go to the library and look up what cockroaches eat - mostly it will be glue (book binding) and such. I put most of my food in glass jars, tupperware or large popcorn tins -things bugs cannot get into. Don't leave cardboard, and things around that roaches like to nest in. Hope this helps some.

We've had bad roach infestations from irresponsible renters. The quickest remedy we've found is this:

Mix dry oatmeal with Plaster of Paris powder. The sweetened, instant oatmeal works well also. Sprinkle some of the mixture onto a shallow bottle cap or shallow jar lid (yogurt lid works well) and place it on the floor in the kitchen, or wherever you see most of the roaches, before you go to bed. Put a jar lid (low sides) of water next to it. The roaches will eat the mix which will harden with the water and they'll drop dead before going to their nest to reproduce. You'll have to sweep them up each morning before pets or children get them. Each morning, there will be less. After a few mornings of no dead roaches, you can quit using the bait. This can take up to 2 weeks, depending on the degree of infestation.

Meanwhile, if you can safely sprinkle boric acid behind appliances, in cracks, behind floorboards, and under sink cabinets (anywhere there is moisture), this should kill any roaches that wander in after you've cleaned out the nests. Do not put boric acid where children or pets can get to it.

I just moved into my apartment and it has crown molding. I thought this was a beautiful apartment until I saw him looking at me. I felt his filthy antennas moving around, like that feeling when your sitting in traffic and you know the person next to you is looking. THAT FEELING!

So my fiance and i grabbed two different sprays one for both of us. I had clorox cleaning stuff. He had the disinfectant. He was sitting on the crown molding looking checking us out like how dare they move into my motel. So we sprayed and sprayed and he was still there we sprayed more and then he disappeared my sister came over to see the apartment and we told her the story then she looks up and there he was a ignorant roach. I guess he wanted more, so we let him have it.

He died and there still roaches in my place. So I thought of a smart thing to do. I asked my landlord if she has an apartment building that's not infested. She is letting me take another place. I just hope this place isn't infested. Please god, I'm tired of finding roaches in my son's room. I have never lived with roaches before. I'm not going to now. Gosh they're so disgusting. ew

I tried the idea hot sauce put in a spray bottle with water and started spraying. Next thing I know.They are all running outside of the bathroom.

OMG this is working. So now I guess the plan will be this. In a few days, bomb the apartment really, really good. Then on a regular basis spray around all the edges of the apartment and even in all the cabinets and just do that on a regular basis. I think this will be the ticket, because once the roaches realize that the whole house is on "FIRE" with the hot sauce. Their probably going to pack their bags, and move to the next mans apartment.

Thanks a lot guys for this great resource. This has some of the best remedies that I have ever seen on the net. I'll keep you guys posted.